The Abundance of Cyanophages Infecting Synechococcus spp. Along the Newport Coast
Yazeed Ibrahim
Mentor: Jennifer Martiny
Although cyanophages are highly abundant in marine environments and are known to be
major players in the abundance and mortality rates of marine cyanobacteria, little is
known about the interactions between marine cyanophages and their bacterial hosts. In
addition, little is known about the factors and trends that play into the abundance and
diversity of marine cyanophages. In this study, we used the Most Probable Number
method to estimate the concentration of marine Synechococcus spp. cyanophages in
Newport Coast seawater on a monthly basis between October 2007 and March 2008. We
found that the abundance of cyanophages infecting Synechococcus spp. was dynamic and
changed throughout the six-month period. The concentration of the cyanophages
infecting the four studied Synechococcus spp. hosts ranged from less than 1 phage ml-1
infecting host WH 8101 in December to more than 480 phages ml-1 infecting host WH
7803 in February. Observing cyanophage concentration changes over time will help to
better define the interactions between Synechococcus spp. and cyanophages in Southern
California’s coastal environment.